Ross School students Eloise Lee and Leo Robillard get help preparing a hot air balloon for launch from teachers Bill Lescoheir and Andrea Keenan. (Photo by Christine Heilmann) 2018

Marin General Hospital’s massive expansion project is a third done. Concrete is being poured on the decks; the steel frame is fully erected; and the sizable silhouette of a new wing is now obvious.

In March, the “skin” will go on the frame, and from the outside, passersby soon will notice a finished look.

But don’t be fooled, it will be nowhere close to done. “There’s still a lot to go inside the 259,000 square feet. That’s a lot of space to do,” Project Manager Ron Peluso said.

The $534 million hospital reconstruction project includes the new building, with its 114 private rooms and floor-to-ceiling windows, that connect to the hospital’s existing west wing. There will be larger operating rooms to accommodate state-of-the-art imaging equipment and other technical innovations, such as robotics.

In coming months, the 120-person workforce now on the construction site will more than double as subcontractors are brought in to add plumbing, electrical, dry wall and the inner workings of the new wing, Peluso said. The project should hit the halfway mark this summer, he said. The new wing is slated to open mid-2020.

A generous contingency was built into the budget for construction overruns as well as extra time for rainy days, so the project is running within budget and on schedule, despite an exceptionally wet winter last year, Peluso said.

Improvements to the traffic lane on Bon Air Road adjacent to the hospital were funded with project funds. Previously cracked and prone to potholes, the repaved road from the St. Sebastian Catholic Church parking lot to Bayview Road now includes a traffic signal, a new Schultz Memorial Drive entry to the hospital and a safe crossing option for students making their way to Bacich and Kent schools.

Hospital officials say they have received only a few complaints about construction noise. But Peluso said neighbors have not been fond of the backup alarms on trucks. And staff periodically would call about the loud clangs and seismic-like vibrations during the early demolition and foundation drilling phases, he said.

“It would result in some shaking. The hospital would call and say, ‘We can’t take the shaking. We are in the middle of a procedure.’ We’d stop and delay it until the procedure was done or until the next day,” he said.

Nevertheless, neighbors and staff “have been understanding of what’s going on, on the site,” Peluso said. “Everyone is very happy to get a new hospital so there’s a little more patience.”

Flu update

This year’s flu isn’t messing around. Experts say it’s hospitalized a record number of people, killed scores nationwide and forced closure of schools in 11 states — but not here. And when it comes to Kentfield, Greenbrae and Ross public schools, officials are surprised by the relatively low number of reported cases among students,

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So far, only five confirmed cases of the flu have been reported in the 1,230-student Kentfield School District, district nurse Cammi Bell said. Another four were presumed cases.

Likewise, Ross Superintendent Michael McDowell said there’s just been one confirmed case among his 386-student population. Another two or three cases were unconfirmed, he said.

“We have not had much issue, not near what I was predicting. A couple of staff but not many students and not dramatic (cases),” he said.

Bell said if she were to speculate why, it would be heeded efforts to vaccinate, teachers making sure kids wash their hands before eating, and the schools being a bit more aggressive about sending students home when they show signs of illness.

School officials know flu season isn’t over, but “fingers crossed, we escape an outbreak,” Bell said.

Balloon tradition

On the shout of “3-2-1 ... release!” about 50 Ross School fifth-graders launched handcrafted hot air balloons into the cold blue sky on a recent January morning. Town folks and school officials gathered to watch as the 6-foot-tall creations then floated slowly back down into Ross Commons.

“It is magical, it really is. Nothing quite matches the sight, sound and feel of gathering outside for the release and flight of colorful handmade balloons on a crisp, sunny morning,” teacher Christine Heilmann said.

The students spend months on this annual tradition, first making a pattern in art class, then creating layers of tissue paper panels.

Fifth-grade teachers and parents help construct the balloons. Teacher Bill Lescoheir runs a machine that generates the hot air to fill the balloons. And science teacher Andrea Meyers schools students on the science behind it all.

No one seems to know how far back this Ross tradition dates, but art teacher Idie Weinsoff said it was already well-established when she started teaching there 24 years ago.

“There’s nothing more exciting for me than to see our students take what they’re learning and apply it to something relevant,” Superintendent Michael McDowell said. “It completely engages them. It’s something they’ll remember for their entire lives.”

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The Independent Journal is expanding its network of About Town columnists and is looking for a freelance correspondent in Fairfax or San Anselmo to pen weekly dispatches. If you have writing and reporting experience, a curious mind and time to devote to a regular column, send a cover letter, resume and writing samples to Editor Robert Sterling at rsterling@marinij.com.

About the Author

Mary Enbom, of Greenbrae, is the IJ’s About Town correspondent for Greenbrae, Kentfield and Ross. Got a tip? Reach the author at marinijmaryenbom@gmail.com
or follow Mary on Twitter: @MaryEnbom.